


On Your Toes

by shewhodrawscats



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Love/Hate, don't put too much thought into the timeline here I have no idea when this is supposed to take place
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 05:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15090083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shewhodrawscats/pseuds/shewhodrawscats
Summary: It was the jewel sparkling at the end of the silver chain that was distracting him. That was what caught his eye. Definitely not the vast expanse of porcelain skin that Winter was showing, or the way the glittering material of her dress clung to her hips. It must have just been the crow in him, attracted to shiny things.





	On Your Toes

**Author's Note:**

> My first RWBY fic and it's these two nerds. Please be kind, I'm still finding my bearings when it comes to writing this pair.

Qrow wasn't really sure why he was _there_.

Formal events were fine for formal people, but it wasn't exactly his style. Still, it was upon Ozpin's insistence that he come along with him. _A plus one of sorts_ , the man had chuckled, in that knowing way that implied he knew something Qrow didn't. After so many years, the huntsman had learned to just... go with the headmaster's whims, odd though they may be.

And besides that, an open bar was an open bar, whether it was in Vale or Atlas.

Settling into a seat at the small bar, Qrow took a moment to take in the building this godforsaken event was taking place in. True to Atlesian form, the hall was monochromatic, everything coloured in shades of grey, white, and silver. Blue, if you squinted in the right places, but that might be thinking hopeful. It seemed like they took 'seeing things in black and white' a little too far.

The people around him were either in formal wear-- suit and tie, formal gowns that draped elegantly off female forms, cool colours that made them practically blur into the background-- or the more militant dress uniforms. Ironwood was somewhere to the left of the room, Qrow noted distantly, in that part of his mind that constantly kept tabs on his surroundings. Over the rattling of ice cubes in his glass, he could hear the general going on about the latest developments, ' _oh yes, your student is such a special snowflake_ , _top of the class,_ ' and the other usual lies that headmaster's told to parents.

Speaking of _special snowflakes_ , it was odd to see ol' Jimmy without Winter stuck to his side.

Sparing a glance around the expansive ballroom, Qrow saw no sign of the Ice Queen-- though her family had already made their mandatory appearance. Jacques Schnee, always the life of a party, was talking boisterously across the hall-- something about Faunus' politics not having anything to do with his company, or some other bull-- _pardon the expression._ Honestly, her father being there was probably a good enough reason for Winter not to make any appearance. Couldn't say he much _blamed_ her.

Was he a bit disappointed? _Eh_. It wasn't as if he made the trek from Vale to Atlas to see her, but Winter did have a tendency to provide him at least a bit of entertainment. Usually in the form of a good fight, the way you'd expect from a military specialist. Sure, it might be nice to go home without a handful of bruises and scrapes, but sometimes it was worth it. Sometimes those little scraps served as a good reminder that you were alive, and that someone out there was still capable of getting your blood flowing.

But was he _disappointed_ she wasn't there? Well, he'd never say it out loud.

A couple of hours and twice as many glasses later, Qrow had half a mind to find Ozpin to _excuse himself_ from the event. He wasn't there to hang off of Ozpin's arm-- that, he's pretty sure, was Glynda's job-- so there was no real purpose to his staying there, other than keeping an eye on the room and irritating the bartender.

In fact, he probably would have left an hour in, had it not been for the fact that he'd been _forced_ into dressing up for this event, and damn it, he was going to make it worth it. Tugging at the cuff of his sleeve a moment, Qrow had to appreciate the fact that, at the very least, he filled out the suit well-- and he had gotten a few appreciative looks from the women at this thing.

Maybe if he was lucky, the night wouldn't have to end a _complete_ bust.

Maybe they wouldn't notice that he was as fake as the red crystal cuff links he fingered at.

Qrow was internally debating over whether the brunette at the bar or the blonde watching him from over by the window would be his better choice to approach when his attention was drawn by the doors at the front of the hall opening once again, allowing a small spattering of late guests to slip inside. He wouldn't have thought too much of it-- expecting them to be nothing more than the usual Atlesian rich and mighty-- had he not heard Ironwood greet someone with a warm laugh, “See, Schnee? I knew you'd clean up nicely.”

Doubting greatly that such a warm sentiment, especially coming from James, would be aimed at Jacques, Qrow turned on his bar stool to look at the newly entered guests.

And James hadn't been joking; though she was halfway across the room, Qrow could see the dress she had chosen. Midnight blue, fitted well against her slim figure, flaring at her knee to allow for a better movement... There was a shimmer to the fabric that caught his eye, and he would hardly have been surprised to find out that she had Dust woven into the material. Typical, for a Schnee.

 _Sure_ , she was _dressed_ like a princess, but her hips were squared, jaw lifted, arms firmly at her side. Dress a soldier like a princess, they're still gonna act like a soldier.

Rising from his stool, Qrow kept the Ice Queen in his sights as he weaved through the crowded hall. Her arms were bare, exposing both muscle and scars to the world. He couldn't see her feet from beneath the material that gathered around her feet, but he assumed by her added height that she was wearing heels beneath-- or perhaps, she had snuck the boots from her military uniform. He wouldn't have been surprised.

When he finally managed to burst through the crowds and into the small space that separated him from Winter and Ironwood, he found himself stopping dead in his tracks-- or as quickly as a rather intoxicated man could stop. If either of them noticed his presence, he couldn't say, his eyes unable to pull away from this latest little detail.

It was the jewel sparkling at the end of the silver chain that was distracting him. The chain that started at the top of her neck, where her dress halter closed, and fell down the line of her back, three little diamonds sitting between her shoulder blades and the largest resting somewhere near the small of her back. That was what caught his eye. Definitely not the vast expanse of porcelain skin that Winter was showing, or the way the glittering material of her dress clung to her hips. It must have just been the crow in him, attracted to shiny things.

Yes, it was the _jewel_ that had his attention so thoroughly.

“ _Branwen_.” Ah, it would appear he had been caught-- His gaze lifted from the small of her back to find that Winter was looking over her shoulder at him, and with a rather _less-than-impressed_ expression. He realized then that he had bent forward to better observe the jewellery, and straightened up to his full height. Even with the added height from her heels, Qrow was able to look down at her-- and he saw the twitch of frustration she displayed from it. “Have you forgotten your _manners_ , or do you always leer at women unwanted?”

Perhaps it was the drink on his tongue delaying a snappy comeback. It seemed a more likely culprit than him actually being tongue-tied by the appearance of Winter _in a dress_. He managed a half-grin, which only seemed to annoy her more, if the narrowing of her eyes was any sign. Good to know he could annoy without so much as saying a word.

“Calm down, Ice Queen--” His grin widened when Winter practically snarled at the nickname, “I was just trying to figure out if Jimmy here had you replaced with one of his robots yet. Still not sure, but the dress is making me lean towards a _pretty likely_ verdict.”

Winter grit her teeth, but simply ended the argument with a roll of her eyes, turning back to facing James. He waited a moment to see if she would turn back to have the last word, but it seemed as though she was perfectly content to pretend he just wasn't there.

 _Mm_. Wouldn't do. If he was stuck here being miserable, so was she.

Dropping his glass off on the tray of a passing waiter, Qrow wiped the condensation off his hands before stepping up alongside Winter and James, drawing out his most ' _charming_ ' smile. The sort that would make Winter wish they'd let her bring her weapons into this shindig.

“'Scuse me, Jimmy, but I'm cutting in for a minute. Ice Queen here owes me a dance.”

Ironwood quirked a brow, but seemed more amused than anything. If Qrow didn't know better than to think the tin soldier had a sense of humour, he'd almost think he was tempted to laugh, especially once he caught Winter's disgusted expression.

“I owe you _nothing_ , Qrow,” Despite the fact that she looked about ready to gut him, Winter kept her voice low. Wouldn't do to make a scene, after all. It could reflect poorly on her superior officer. Qrow nearly rolled his eyes, resisting only in exchange for taking hold of Winter's hand. “Besides, with the absolute _stench_ of alcohol coming off of you, I'm impressed you can even stand right now, never mind _dance_.”

He didn't release her hand, and began tugging her away from the chatting crowd, “One dance. Humour me.”

Winter frowned, but tamed her expression back into neutrality as she allowed him to guide her out towards the dance floor, where a small number of other couples danced together, caught in romantic embraces. Qrow was quick to lead her into position, free hand settling on her hip in order to coax her closer into his space.

She proved a bit more reluctant to put her hand on his shoulders to complete the position, but eventually seemed to coax herself into it-- if only so the other dancers would stop _looking_ in her direction.

“There, see? Not so bad, is it, Schnee?” Qrow couldn't keep the humour out of his voice, leading her in an off rhythm waltz. He'd keep to himself the fact that she constantly needed to look back down at her feet. It was amusing-- give this woman a military maneuver, she could understand it inside and out. Dancing? That was a mystery. "Geez, when was the last time we danced together like this, huh?"

Winter didn't look up from the floor. “Two years.”

 _Yeah_ , he shouldn't have been surprised that she'd had an answer on the tip of her tongue.

His hand slipped away from her hip and around to the small of her back, his fingers warm against the cool, exposed skin he found there. If he didn't know better, he might have thought something of the way Winter shifted closer, the shiver that travelled up her spine. Unfortunately, he was wiser than that, knew better than to read into her.

“Two years ago, huh? What the hell were we doing two years ago that had us dancing?”

Winter was quiet for a moment, looking up from their feet now that she had found the rhythm he had set. Her expression was still in that irritating neutrality, but her eyes gave away a deeper thought, a focus that he usually didn't see there when she wasn't focused on kicking his ass. “General Ironwood's promotion. You weren't nearly as dressed up, that night.”

Qrow chuckled softly, remembering the night in question. “Yeah, well, neither were you. Dress uniforms leave a lot to be desired, now that I've seen you lookin' like this...”

Did she chuckle? _Be still his heart._ The sight of Winter's lips twitching up into something that nearly resembled a smile was a rare one in his presence, the sound even rarer when it wasn't aimed at his misfortune. It made him more willing to forgive the fact that she'd stepped on his foot at the same moment.

The song wrapped up, and true to his word, Qrow released Winter-- much to her evident surprise. He offered her a low bow, chuckling in his throat at he took a step backward. “See, Ice Queen? One dance-- wasn't that bad, huh?”

“I should be surprised at your coordination,” She began, turning her gaze away, “But considering how much of your life you spend intoxicated, I suppose you have learned to deal with the imbalance.”

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

A glance across the dance hall revealed that their absence hadn't been greatly noticed, Ozpin and James in the midst of their own discussions. With Winter's back turned to observe the thinning crowd of party-goers, Qrow caught her attention by taking hold of that taunting necklace that trailed down her back. Fingers delicately toyed with the silver chain and the crystal at the end of it, even as his gaze watched Winter's shoulders rise and fall with each breath.

Funny, you wouldn't think a soldier of her calibre would be thrown by something like that.

“You know, I may not have remembered when we danced last, but I do remember how that night _ended_.” His statement was met with a faint scoff, and if he hadn't had her caught by the jewellery, he was fairly certain she would have started off across the room. As it was, he had a captive audience for once. “Don't tell me you forgot _that_ part.”

His hand fell away from the chain, and Winter turned back to face him, her expression unreadable-- which, he had to admit, was better than what he'd expected. He'd _expected_ to be leaving with a sore face after she'd slapped him for bringing up their previous little tryst, an event he was fairly certain she had tried to forget. Instead, she just watched him closely.

If he didn't know better, he'd think that she was challenging him, holding his gaze like that.

Finally, she spoke: “Do not push your luck, Qrow.”

He couldn't help the grin returning to his face at her tone, trying so hard to hold her composure, but he saw the colour darkening on her face. Oh yes, she remembered. Two years later, and that memory was still putting some heat into her frozen facade. Holding his hands up in a mock surrender, he offered her a chuckle, “Oh, oh, of course... Wouldn't dream of it.”

Winter watched him a moment longer before shaking her head, though whether it was at him or herself, he really couldn't say. She muttered something under her breath-- he doubted it was a 'good night'-- before she turned away from him and started back across the ballroom.

“What's that saying again...?” Qrow said aloud, “Hate to see you go, love to watch you leave?”

He decided that the sight of Winter stumbling over her own feet and swearing at his comment made the evening worth it.

 


End file.
